Alex Rodriguez

Alex Rodriguez

Alexander Emmanuel "Alex" Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975) is an American baseball third baseman for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). Known popularly by his nickname A-Rod, he previously played shortstop for the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers.

Rodriguez is considered one of the best all-around baseball players of all time. He is the youngest player ever to hit 500 home runs, breaking the record Jimmie Foxx set in 1939, and the youngest to hit 600, besting Babe Ruth's record by over a year. Rodriguez has fourteen 100-RBI seasons in his career, more than any other player in history. On September 24, 2010, Rodriguez hit two home runs, surpassing Sammy Sosa's mark of 609 home runs, and became the all-time leader in home runs by a player of Hispanic descent.

In December 2007, Rodriguez and the Yankees agreed to a 10-year, $275 million contract. This contract was the richest contract in baseball history (breaking his previous record of $252 million).

In February 2009, after previously denying use of performance-enhancing drugs, including during a 2007 interview with Katie Couric on 60 Minutes, Rodriguez admitted to using steroids, saying he used them from 2001 to 2003 when playing for the Texas Rangers due to what he called "an enormous amount of pressure" to perform.